PENGASSAN says decades-old benefits no longer reflect cost of living; urges PenCom, multinational oil firms to fix widening pension gaps…
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and major oil and gas companies to urgently address widening pension disparities affecting retirees in the industry.
Speaking on Thursday at a one-day summit on the future of pensions in the sector, held in Abuja, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo said many retired workers under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) are struggling because their pension payments have remained stagnant for years.
Osifo said the economic hardship faced by retirees has worsened with persistent inflation and the depreciation of the naira.
“We have observed with deep concern that many of our retirees are going through hardship because their pensions have remained static for years,” he said. “Pensioners who retired decades ago now earn benefits that no longer reflect the cost of living. Some retired as far back as 1990 or 2010, and what they take home monthly today has lost its value.”
He added that while a few closed pension fund administrators (CPFAs) adjust benefits periodically, most retirees depend entirely on the discretion of management.
“In about 90 percent of the closed pension schemes, the benefits do not grow,” Osifo said. “The retirees depend solely on management’s goodwill for increments.”
The union leader urged PenCom and major operators including Chevron, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to revisit actuarial assumptions, review retirement benefits, and ensure fairness in pension administration.
He reaffirmed PENGASSAN’s commitment to the welfare of both active and retired members.
“We will engage the management of these organisations to restore dignity to our retirees,” he said. “We will not rest until retirees in the oil and gas sector are treated with the dignity they deserve.”
PenCom’s Director-General, Omolola Oloworaran, represented by Abdulqadir Dalhatu, head of the Investment Supervision Department, assured stakeholders that the commission would strengthen its oversight of CPFAs.
“Our goal is to sustain confidence in the pension system while ensuring that retirees’ funds are safe and managed responsibly,” she said, noting that PenCom would intensify monitoring, compliance measures and sustainable investment practices.
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